THE BIRDS OF CUMBERLAND. 103 



pay frequent visits to the farmyard Ducks, thereby 

 improving the flavour of the home breed, and re- 

 storing, in part, the degenerated powers of flight. 

 Upon one occasion, a black and white domesticated 

 Duck was induced by a wild drake to take to a free 

 life, on Solway moss, and the offspring thus produced 

 were shot ; several of them being black and white, 

 like the old female. A pinioned but breeding Mal- 

 lard, W'hich we studied during the present summer 

 (1885), began to doff" his nuptial garb, and to go 

 into eclipse, at the beginning of June. Drakes shot 

 in September are assuming full plumage. 



Genus CH AU LE L AS MU S. 



C. Streperus. Gadwall. 



The Gadwall is a winter visitant of rare occur- 

 rence, but has probably been overlooked. It has 

 only been detected in the neighbourhood of the 

 Solway. A drake, which had been consorting with 

 some tame ducks, was shot as it flew away, at 

 Grinsdale, on the Eden, October 21st, 1884. An 

 immature drake was shot on the Lyne, on Jan. 3rd, 

 1885. The first weighed lib. 6 ozs. ; the second, 

 lib. 1 If ozs., though a fortnight's frost had pre- 

 vailed, f Culmen, dusky black ; edges of mandibles, 

 horn colour ; tarsi and toes, dull yellow ; webs, 

 blackish, fringed in the immature bird w^ith yellow ; 

 claws, dark grey ; irides, dark hazel. 



t We have weighed Gadwall which turned the scale at 2^ lbs. 



